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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. bank — for money
  6. kick — in football
  7. capital — a city
  8. bank — of a river
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hand — help
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bank — for money
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — money
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. tear — to rip
  22. sharp — clever
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com